Reading Over the Christmas Holidays

Carli Jean / unsplash.com

In the winter she curls up around a good book

and dreams away the cold.

BEN AARONOVITCH

These quiet days between Christmas and New Year's are the perfect time to crack open my new books and disappear between their inviting covers for a while. All the while sipping Scottish breakfast tea and nibbling slices of fruitcake. It's a match made in heaven.

Here is what I'm dipping into these days:

The Writing Diet, Write Yourself Right-Size

by Julia Cameron

I had this self-help book in the back of my mind ever since Lin mentioned she was reading and enjoying it.

"Over the course of the past twenty-five years, Julia Cameron has taught thousands of artists and aspiring artists how to unblock wellsprings of creativity. And time and again she has noticed an interesting thing: Often, in uncovering their creative selves her students also undergo a surprising physical transformation-invigorated by their work, they slim down. In The Writing Diet, Cameron illuminates the relationship between creativity and eating to reveal a crucial equation: creativity can block overeating."  excerpt from Amazon.com

The Scent of Water

by Elizabeth Goudge

Originally published in 1963, this novel has been re-released by Hendrickson Publishers just this year!  I was first introduced to Elizabeth Goudge by another Brenda, a beautiful blogger who shares with her readers her own love of books.

“Jean was visited by one of her rare moments of happiness, one of those moments when the goodness of God was so real to her that it was like taste and scent; the rough strong taste of honey in the comb and the scent of water. Her thoughts of God had a homeliness that at times seemed shocking, in spite of their power, which could rescue her from terror or evil with an ease that astonished her.”

Surprised by Oxford

by Carolyn Weber

Written by a fellow Canadian who studied in Oxford, England.  Now that makes me think of C.S. Lewis and Narnia and...

"Surprised by Oxford is the memoir of a skeptical agnostic on a surprising journey toward a dynamic personal faith in God. When Carolyn Weber arrived at Oxford for her graduate studies in Romantic literature, she felt no need for God. Her childhood in a broken but loving family taught her to rely on reason and intellect—not faith—for survival. What she didn’t know was that she was about to embark on a love story of her own—one much deeper, more colorful, and more surprisingly God-shaped than any she’d read before." excerpt from book synopsis

One Hundred Names for Love

by Diane Ackerman

It's a beautiful memoir about 'a stroke, a marriage, and the language of healing'. I read the library's copy a couple of months ago and knew I wanted to read it again as she shared so many interesting things about how the brain works and how she and her husband are 'recovering' from his stroke... all written in such a beautiful way.

Eat, Shrink and Be Merry

by Greta and Janet Podleski

These delightful women have created a fabulous and humour-filled cookbook which Rick and I are hoping to cook our way through. So far we've sampled the broiled salmon with a cream dill sauce and tonight we're trying the grilled pork tenderloin with a tangy apple jelly and Dijon mustard sauce. Yum!

* * *

Wishing you a pleasant day. 

Heart hugs,
Brenda

xo

A List of A Different Kind

HERE'S A LIST you don't have to check twice, and you don't have to admit if you've been naughty or nice either.  Just a little fun as we count down four more sleeps!


1. Are your lists done or are you still working on them? Some years I'm all done by this time, but have to admit I've still got a wee gift list as well as a food shopping list to finish by Friday.

2.  Hot Cocoa or mulled apple cider? Hot Cocoa... and don't spare the whipped cream and chocolate shavings either!

3. Turkey or Ham? Turkey with Mom's recipe for stuffing, and lots of it.

4. Do you get a fake or real-you-cut-it-yourself Christmas tree? I love a real tree, but for years we've set up a very pretty artificial one and put candle-like lights on it.  As a child I loved it when we'd come home from school one afternoon to discover that the tree had been chopped down and was now waiting for the okay to haul inside.  That meant Christmas was almost here.

5. Decorations on the outside of your house this year? Very simple this year -- lights on the house and a wreath with the long-tailed velvet bow on the door.

6. Snowball fights or sleddin’? Sleddin' (although it's been a while since I've done that. Snowball fights were a menace to eyeglasses).

7. Favorite Christmas song? That's too hard to narrow down; it depends what grabs my heart and fancy on a particular year. Sacred: Joy to the World; Secular: Sleigh Ride would be right up there.  When I'm not paying attention, I most often find myself humming Deck the Halls.

8. How do you feel about Christmas movies? I like them - love The Bishop's Wife, the old Bing Cosby ones (White Christmas, Going My Way, Bells of St. Mary), While You Were Sleeping, You've Got Mail...to name a few. I also enjoy movies that add to the ambiance, but aren't necessarily Christmas, e.g. Anne of Green Gables (there a scene with Christmas festivities going on).

9. When is it too early to start listening to Christmas music? Is it ever too early? Some Christmas music I can listen to any time (usually the classical stuff by Bach or Handel).

10. Going to someone's house or they coming to you? This year we're off to my sister's where we get to christen her newly-built home; it's out in the country and overlooks the Rocky Mountains.

11. Do you read the Christmas Story? If so when? I love the Christmas Story from Luke 1-2, King James Version (the one I grew up on and learned by heart without even trying, I'd heard it so many times). I love to read and ponder, like Mary, throughout December.

12. What do you do after presents and dinner? Sit around and visit, snooze, play games, nibble.  Laugh and tell stories.  Listen to the kids do their piano recital pieces, maybe sing carols.

13. What is your favorite holiday smell? The spicy smells of cinnamon and cloves; the turkey cooking on Christmas Day; evergreens as they warm when they are brought into the house.


14. Do you open a present or presents on Christmas Eve, or wait until Christmas day? Our family tradition until siblings started getting married (needing to go to in-laws) was to open our presents on Christmas Eve, but now we wait until Christmas Day.  Rick and I usually do our own exchange of gifts early Christmas morning, tucked up in bed with something steaming to sip on as we savor packages and giggle together at the fun.

15. Favorite Christmas memory? As a young child, sitting in the darkened living room on a quiet evening watching the tree lights while my mom made supper in the kitchen. I felt cozy and safe.

16. Favorite part about winter? Snow; short days and early twilights; that Christmas is in the middle of it; looking for the birds come to the feeders on cold days; watching the joy of kids and dogs playing in newly-fallen-snowman-worthy snow!

17.  Write Christmas cards or send e-cards and Facebook greetings?  Both now.  But I still love looking for the perfect Christmas cards that become part of the message I want to share from my heart, which usually includes a letter or note (to go snail-mail and arrive in someone's letter box).

And now I'm off to tackle my other lists.  From the heart of my bottom bottom of my heart, I wish you a beautiful day --- as Mary Engelbreigt would say, Be warm inside and out!

Hugs,

   

Waiting For Christmas

I shall never forget the day last year, right around this time, when Miss Kitty came and asked me to move her pillow from her chair to the table sitting in front of the bay window. She was very clear about what she wished. Today, as I remember and miss this sweet kitty today, I'm posting those photos as a little comfort to myself. Hope you enjoy too.

Miss Kitty Waits For Christmas

Miss Kitty instructs her staff to please take

her chair cushion and lay it on the table --

That way she can look out and be more comfortable

while she waits for Christmas to arrive. 

Peering out on the frost-bitten day,
she finally finds the best spot and settles down.

So while Missy tends to her post,we happily tend to ours
as we work on our last day preparations...

before the arrival of Christmas Eve --

which to me is the most beautiful day of the year.

Wishing you lots of JOY,

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY...

Linking to The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... the sun has risen and the sky is that not-too-ambitious pale December blue. It promises seasonal temperatures minus the biting winds. 

I am thinking... about a quote I found recently by William Blake -- In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.  I think that might be something to ponder a bit.

Question of the day... do I know what season my heart is in at present? I like to use the garden's seasons as a metaphor, e.g. new life in Spring, growth and bloom in Summer, harvest for labours in Autumn, rest and hibernation in Winter. 

I am thankful... for the box of Christmas cards I found with this particular painting in its collection (below).  I can easily imagine that I'm the one sitting so contentedly on the Shepherd's lap.
  

from Daymaker Inspirational Gifts, Barbour Publishing Inc.

From the learning rooms... I'm taking a night class right entitled 'transform your life, transform your city'. 

In the kitchen... we just had freshly brewed coffee (from Panama beans) and a toasted raisin-cinnamon bagel a-drip with melted peanut butter. Yum!

I am wearing... a black legging with a lacy spaghetti-strap top (still in my jammies). 

I am going... shopping with hubby for a new winter jacket. He wants to be sure I'll be warm when the temperatures plummet. I hope I can find both warm and pretty in the same jacket. And although I like the warmth of down, usually I feel too much like a Mrs. Waddle Downy Duck when I put on such a jacket.

I started reading... Jan Karon's Shepherds Abiding. Perfect for this season. Just cracked open the covers late last night to catch a few moments in Mitford before heading off into la-la land.

I am looking forward to... the weekend. We have a Christmas choral concert on Sunday afternoon. They usually give opportunity for the audience to join in a couple of rousing carols at the end. That is always one of my favorite things to do -- to sing the old familiar carols simply and sweetly. 

I am hearing... my computer humming. No birds around yet. No music on, Christmas or otherwise.

Around the house... I came in last night from my class. It was cold and dark outside (except for the shimmer of the moon way, way up). Hubby had already gone to bed, but he left the Christmas tree candle-lights on, and when I walked in I felt a rush of joy... for they offered such a warm welcome.

Wishing you a beautiful day and a wonderful weekend!

Brenda

xox

December Thoughts

 

Dear Beautiful Friends,

You probably wonder where I am.... I'm wondering where I am too. Because at present I have no concrete thoughts to share with you. The flow isn't there. It's not that I'm not thinking of you and it's not that I'm not taking moments for wee visits...but the desire to write about anything, even about my favourite time of year, pales at the present time.

For in the midst of my usual joy in Christmas activities I have been experiencing a great longing to draw near the fire within my heart and sit nearer the feet of Jesus... to wonder at His great gift... to just be quiet and soak in His presence. Which, as I've said, makes everything else pale in comparison.

Which is maybe why I don't really feel like posting these days. Even my own personal journal scribblings have slowed (something that doesn't happen often). I don't want to write about my usual little joys -- somehow the throbs of my heart have been listening for something else. I want to feel His love, hear His kind voice, listen to the beat of His heart for a world He loves so much... so writing about ordinary things (as wonderful as they are) just doesn't fit the season right now.

I wanted you to know I'm not far away, my heart is near, even if there aren't any words right now.

As you prepare for these special days, His heart is near, and I wish you your own true glimpses of heaven in unexpected places. I'll return.

With my heart,
Brenda
xox